Patients at risk as GPs miss herbal medicines from notes.

HERBAL medicine; HOSPITAL emergency services; HERBAL abortifacients; MEDICAL history taking; MULTIDIMENSIONAL Health Profile; EMERGENCY management

The article discusses on the abusive usage of herbal medicines by patients admitted as an acute emergency in hospitals in England. A challenge is posted to General Practitioners to always check herbal medications to their patients when taking in routine histories. An audit of 100 patients admitted for acute emergency showed that 24 patients were taking herbal remedies, 20 of them were also using prescription drugs, while 11 were documented with toxicity or interaction with prescribed drugs.